the caterpillar
by anchora
Summary: / naruhina (translation) / "Would you like to hear a story, Hinata? It is about a little boy and a little girl caterpillar who became butterflies, but at a great cost."


**the caterpillar**

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The original story is written in Spanish, by _lindakennedy_, under the title _El nino oruguita_. All credit goes to her, and with her permission I have translated ( and updated) it.

I hope you like it :)

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Why was she so unlucky, exactly?

Ever since she had the ability to reason, her life had been flooded with the waters of failure, smothering it and shaking it up in an irrepressible manner, and there was absolutely no one she blamed more for these failures than herself. In fact, being the first—born child classified as her very first failure—if not her greatest. Had she been born after, perhaps so much wouldn't be expected of her. Perhaps she wouldn't be treated that all Hyuugas (without exception) treated her.

The second failure was not being able to maintain her power as Big Sister. Hanabi exceeded in all aspects, both physical and mental, and thereby acquired the approval of her father, leaving Hinata, she who was five years her senior, she who was supposed to be the one exceeding in all aspects, relegated. The third was a series of mini-failures—personal and professional humiliations which fell on her existence as a domino, making her appear useless to both her companions and herself. That alone should have been too much for her, but she carried it all with a resignation and without any hopes of improving.

But her greatest failure, the one that made her feel like the trash all Hyuugas said she was, was not having accomplished anything in confessing her love to Naruto. If anything, it made him pay even less attention to her than before, if such a thing was possible. She didn't even have the desire that he reciprocate her feelings, because if he didn't feel the same way then he didn't and there was no point in forcing him into something he didn't want.

She didn't notice someone next to her, moving their hand spasmodically in front of her face.

"Hinata!"

"Oh!" she yelped, and saw the hand that was frantically trying to get her attention. It belonged to the object of her affections, Naruto Uzumaki.

"Are you feeling okay?" the blonde asked, a great look of concern and interest on his face. Hinata no longer blushed in his presence, having lost that ability along with any fighting spirit she once had, due to the insensitivity she'd experienced.

"I'm fine, Naruto-kun." she adjusted herself as to be able to speak more comfortably with him,. After all, it was he who once made her heart leap with joy. "What brings you here? Is Sakura-chan on a mission?"

Naruto frowned, obviously bothered by Hinata's different attitude around him. He was used to the stammering, shy girl, but the Hinata in front of him was calm, more akin to the demeanors of nobles like her.

"Actually, no. Sakura-chan's with Bushy Brows and lately they've been having 'conversations'"—he made quotations signs with his fingers—"that I'm not allowed to listen to. I bet you their dates have already reached second or third base by now, and almost everyone's noticed." he added that last part very calmly, with an acceptance that Hinata envied.

"I've been trying to catch you for months; I just passed by your house and your dad said you weren't there so I left, trying to devise a plan to find you. You're very sneaky, Hinata-chan."

Hinata stared at him, not sure how she should respond to what Naruto was saying to her. She hadn't been trying to hide; the thought never even occurred to her. She simply found it pointless to follow him around like before, and although Naruto's feelings were not reciprocated by Sakura, Hinata understood that his heart belonged to another and would do nothing to change it.

"Do you wanna hear a story?" Naruto asked suddenly, once again breaking Hinata out of her musings.

Hinata nodded her dark haired head, looking at him with pearly eyes that had been witness to more failures than successes."What is your story about, Naruto-kun?" inquired the girl, truly interested for two reasons: one, she was in Naruto's personal company and two, she wanted to hear a story that surely the blonde had invented himself.

"It's about a little boy and a little girl caterpillar. Well, actually they're a male and female caterpillar, but the story sounds stupid like that, you know?"

Hinata let out a light laugh, before letting him continue with his story.

"Now, the little boy caterpillar was always sad and alone because the other caterpillars didn't like him, since he was a very different caterpillar indeed. He was too small to comprehend their inconsideration, and learned to live with the disdain of the adult caterpillars and their caterpillar kids.

"But, he never counted on there being a little girl caterpillar that watched him secret every day. The little girl caterpillar was there during every important moment, and, even though he didn't know it, supported him silently, sure that her little caterpillar boy would one day become a very important caterpillar man."

Naruto subconsciously puffed up his cheeks, suddenly feeling just as important as the caterpillar man. Hinata listened to his tale, with the same unadulterated interest a five year old would have listening to a story being told by her grandparents. Naruto thought about how he would continue on with his tale, and began once more with that same pensive expression.

"As time passed the caterpillar boy began to do things that soon earned him the respect of all the other caterpillars, and still had no idea of the little girl caterpillar watching him from behind his back. Soon, she made her cocoon and slept for a very long time, becoming a beautiful butterfly, with wings of blue, gold, and lilac. The caterpillar boy saw her, loving how she flew, but stayed behind as everyone he watched became beautiful flying insects.

"It was strange to him, especially because of all the people that once mistreated him were now good and kind. He didn't understand, until the day the mighty Falcon came. It planned to feast on all his friends and loved ones, and the caterpillar boy fought him bravely. Although he was strong, he would have died by the Falcon's hand, had it been for the butterfly who came to save him. She distracted the Falcon so the caterpillar could escape or devise a plan, but almost died in the attempt.

"During his great fight with the Falcon, the butterfly told the caterpillar that she harbored the deepest of loves for him, and was not afraid if they clipped her beautiful wings, for she would rather die than see her beloved caterpillar killed."

Hinata lost control and began to cry, touched by the story of the caterpillar, and, although she already who the story was about, wanted to hear it to the end. Naruto made no move to clean the thick tears trailing down their faces, and continued to tell his story, albeit with a sad expression.

"Time went on, and the caterpillar boy did not understand what she had said to him. No; it wasn't that he didn't understand, he didn't want to understand. He didn't want to understand that there was someone who loved him, someone who would go so far as to die for him. He didn't want to understand that such a thing was possible. "

"And what happened to the caterpillar? I mean... to the butterfly?" asked Hinata, her moment of sadness having passed. Naruto smiled, and made a thumbs up.

"The butterfly is now living happily, at least I think so. The caterpillar boy grew up and also became a butterfly, and now they both fly together, planning to one day have little caterpillars of their own, and to never be apart again. Because let me tell you, the butterfly man is the leader of the tree in which they live—"

Naruto stood up from the bench, reaching a hand to Hinata who, once again, felt that familiar blush eddying in her cheeks. She took his hand, feeling that her heart could leap, finally leap, without any sort of oppression or obstacle. "Would you like to fly with me to Ichiraku? This butterfly is very hungry, and since I thought too much, I might just faint." said the blonde, already walking in the direction of his favorite eatery. Hinata nodded, already aware that Naruto knew she would say yes.

"Only you better not let me fall, because I am a butterfly with wings tired from flying by himself for so long, okay?" he asked.

"Don't you worry, because if you fall, you will have your little butterfly here with very large wings to hold you up, never again to leave you by yourself."

Naruto wrapped an arm around Hinata's shoulders, just a like a butterfly with enormous wings protecting a smaller butterfly.

A butterfly very much close to his heart.

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**I remember** originally reading this in Spanish, and thinking, "what a shame some people won't get to read it because it's in a different language". "This will not do!" I cried, then, of course, I got permission to translate it and present this updated, better version to you :)

Please review!


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